KTR launches scathing attack on Congress leaders

Mahabubnagar: Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development KT Rama Rao on Monday launched a scathing attack on veteran Congress leaders from Mahabubnagar for deliberately looking the other way while the people of Mahabubnagar were suffering for the past 60 years.

Speaking at a public meeting at Municipal Bhavan in the town, he said it was the Congress which had erased the legacy of a great reformer like Boorugula Ramakrishna Rao, a son of Mahabubnagar soil and the first Chief Minister of Independent Hyderabad State.

“The great man wanted to construct the Upper Krishna Project which was designed during the Nizam’s period to irrigate Mahabubnagar district with 170 TMC of Krishna Waters. But the then Congress leaders acted as pawns in the hands of Andhra imperialists and merged Hyderabad forcefully with Andhra Pradesh,” he pointed out.

“In 1969, these Congress leaders were mute spectators when 370 Telangana activists were killed by the then government. In 1971, Mallikarjun had won on Telangana Praja Samiti ticket from Mahabubnagar parliamentary constituency, but they took him into Congress and weakened the movement. They kept watching even as a thousand young souls perished fighting for the cause of Telangana between 2004 and 2014 and never even cared to meet the victimized families of the martyrs,” he added.

He said that even after the formation of Telangana State, the Congress leaders were trying to obstruct development by forming a wing in Gandhi Bhavan, paying full-time lawyers to look for ways to place legal hurdles on each and every developmental initiative of the TRS government.

He blamed Congress leaders Harsha Vardhan Reddy and Pawan Kumar Reddy from the district for preventing the people of Mahabubnagar from enjoying the fruits of development. “Were 50 years not enough for the Congress to at least provide drinking water to the people of Mahabubnagar?” he questioned.

In a tongue-in-cheek remark, Rama Rao said reverse migration was not only being seen in Narayanpet and Makthal areas of the district, but also in Mahabubnagar Congress party. Senior leaders who had migrated from Palamuru to Miryalaguda and then to Chevella to contest elections had recently started migrating back to Mahabubnagar to save their political identity by misguiding the people of the district, he said.

He also found fault with the Congress for supporting TJAC Chairman Professor Kodandaram’s ‘Koluvulakai Kotlaata’ protest and said the Congress, which was presently using the jobs sentiment of the unemployed youth, had created only 9,000 to 10,000 jobs through APPSC between 2004 and 2014, when they were in the government in the State as well as the Centre.

“We created 30,000 jobs in three years after the formation of Telangana State and in 60 months, we will complete creation of 1.10 lakh jobs in the State,” he said.

He also criticized Kalwakurthy Congress MLA Vamsi Chander Reddy for approaching the court against Pharma City being set up by the State government near Hyderabad, stating that one lakh youth from Mahabubnagar and Rangareddy Districts would get jobs there when the project becomes operational.

Rubbishing the Congress’ attempts to claim credit for the formation of Telangana State, he said that those claiming credit were the ones who, during the Statehood movement, were against the formation of Telangana and had then said that they were nationalists and not for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. “Sonia Gandhi had promised before the 2004 elections that Telangana would be formed. People voted for her party in the State and the centre. But she kept watching while our sons and daughters took their lives. In 2014, there was no other option for her but to give Telangana or lose in the elections. She didn’t give Telangana. We fought and forced her to say yes,” he told the gathering.

“Do not fear these buffoons of the Congress who sit and stand as per the orders of the High Command. For us, you people are the bosses and we have Chief Minister K Chandrashehkhar Rao by our side,” he said.